You've Got A Way
by Bethie8
Summary: Naley. Nathan & Haley One Tree Hill  A/U ...READ AND FIND OUT :
1. New in Town

***New story :) I know I have others but like it happens I got an idea and went with it :) If you like I will update another chapter :) Let me know!

PS. FEEDBACK IS LOVE!

Bethie

**Dreams are what drive a person's imagination. The idea of love and happiness are forced into our minds by fairytale stories and mystical legends. We believe in these fantasies so much that by the time we reach our mid-twenties we feel as if we have somehow failed because we aren't married or have a bundle of kids behind us. Haley James is one of those failures. She believed in the fairytale, she believed in the idea of love. But like it does that idea never became a reality.**

The crisp fall air hung over the still sleeping Seattle streets. The fog slowly disappearing as the morning light slowly began to peek through. Haley James pulled her coat tight around her while she walked from her usual parking spot across from her favorite café. It was the only one open before 5:00am and to her testimony served the best pumpkin spiced latte.

The wooden door made a small chime when she walked into the empty shop, "Morning Mouth."

Behind the counter stood an awkward blonde, cute but not typically handsome. His smile though…his smile could make anyone's day better, "Morning Haley, the usual?"

Haley searched the stack of newspapers for the one that hadn't gotten wet on its delivery, "Yea…don't feel like stepping out of the box just yet."

"Coming right up."

"So Mouth how's business these days?"

Mouth busied himself with making the drink, never taking his eyes off what he was doing, "Oh you know…we have our good days and bad days…" He sighed, "Here's hoping today's a good day."

"If you have anymore flyers I'll put a bunch in the lunchroom at work for you…"

"Thanks Haley…" He put a lid on the hot liquid and set it on the counter, greeting her with a smile, "Millie was actually getting some made up before she comes in today."

Haley reached out to grab the cup, "I'm sure the specials will help out a lot…everyone's struggling right now…so don't feel too down." She took a sip of her coffee and sighed in comfort, "and you know I'll be here every morning."

Mouth lightly laughed, "Thanks, what's the next big story anyway?"

"When I know I'll let you know…in the mean time…" Haley playfully squinted her eyes, "Got any ideas I can take to my editor?"

Mouth played along and looked up to the ceiling to get inspiration, "Ooo, how about legalized prostitution!" He said with a grin.

Haley shook her head in disbelief, "Have a good day Mouth."

"What? It's a good idea! I can come up with a pro's and con's list if it'll help the article?"

Haley was nearly out the door, "See you tomorrow Mouth."

By the time Haley arrived at her office building, it was already buzzing. That was what she loved about being a writer for the "Seattle Times"…it was always busy. She didn't take much comfort in silence, she found her thoughts asked too many questions.

She placed her bag on her desk and finished what remained in her coffee cup before throwing it away.

"Not big on keeping the planet green eh?"

Haley rolled her eyes before turning to the voice behind her, "Lucas…it is too early in the morning to handle your criticisms.

The blonde that she sat across from five days a week and whom she considered her best friend just curved his lips into a crooked smile, "Oh, should I make an appointment for after lunch then?"

Haley sat down and began pulling out various notes from her bag, "Is there no stopping you?...Ever?"

"Nah, not that anyone has come up with at least." He rose from his desk to lean on her cubical wall, "So I guess Whitey's on the war path this morning…"

Haley groaned, "What now?"

"Beats me…"

Haley continued to pull out loose pieces of papers, along with napkins and receipts…all containing vital notes that she had taken.

"James…they do make these things…" He held up a legal pad, "They're quite the invention. They have lines and perforated edges…the works."

"LUCA-" Before Haley could start her verbal outburst she was interrupted by the voice that made everyone stop in their tracks.

"Roe! James! My office!"

Lucas and Haley shared a look of sympathy before following the voice.

They took their seats once in the office and stared at the man in front of them. Whitey Durham was in his seventies, white hair, expanding waste line and a temper that would make any two year old look like an angel.

He threw a newspaper on his desk and said nothing more. Lucas picked up the paper and chuckled.

Haley threw him a glare.

"Something funny Roe?"

Lucas coughed to redeem himself, "N-No sir, the headline was just catchy…"

"Catchy?" Whitey mocked.

"I just mean-"

"He doesn't know what he means sir." Haley added before nudging him.

Whitey shook his head in aggravation, "Look…this is the third week in a row that the Tribune…" his voice rose, "the TRIBUNE has beaten us in sales…"

"With all do respect sir…I just write a column in the sports section…James over here has her…" Lucas squinted his eyes, "Actually I'm not sure what her column is…"

Haley glared once more.

Whitey leaned forward in his desk with a smile, "Roe…I know the girls must find you some what charming…I know you find yourself very charming" His smile dropped, "But if you don't shut your trap, and I mean now...I'll move your column so far back that the only one to see it will be a dog…right before he pisses all over it!"

Lucas hung his head, "Gotcha."

"Now…before Romeo over here interrupted, you two…for some reason your columns work. Haley in the past few weeks especially, the popularity of your column has skyrocketed…Lucas…" Whitey rolled his eyes, "For some ungodly reason…readers prefer you over Marcus…"

There was a beat of silence.

"I'm giving you both a quarter…"

"A QUARTER!" Lucas and Haley both screamed in unison.

"Yes, yes…" Whitey sighed, "A quarter page each…on a probationary period. This doesn't work your both going back to your three paragraphs." Whitey pointed his finger towards the both of them like they were school children in the principal's office, "DO NOT make me regret this…Now get out of here."

Both Haley and Lucas rose, "Yes sir…thanks you." Haley smiled before they both left the office.

As soon as the door was closed, Lucas and Haley were practically running back to their cubicles.

"A quarter of a page Hales…"

"I know right? Don't screw this up." She said honestly.

"Me? I at least write about something people want to read about…whatever that is you write-"

"For the LAST time, it's a life column."

Lucas stared at her with a blank expression.

"As in a column about the trials and tribulations of daily life."

Lucas' expression remained the same.

"I hate you with the power of Thore you know that right?"

"I've gotten that vibe a few times."

The rest of the day was typical, Haley typed out the numerous notes she had, unscrambled them and somehow found her column finished in time like she normally did. Lucas continued to pest her throughout the rest of the day, like he normally did. In Haley's eyes it was a successful day.

The light of the day was beginning to fade and night was threatening to take over by the time Haley got out of the office and found her car in the parking garage. The drive to her house is only about fifteen minutes from the office, and traffic hadn't been tremendous but when she turned the corner to where her apartment building was she was irritated to find her parking space taken by a moving truck. After another ten minutes and the added time to walk from the space she found down the road, when she reached her apartment building she wasn't in the most pleasant of moods.

She walked up the stairs to the third floor where her apartment, and most importantly her food waited for her. Besides a few bites of a sandwich at work, she hadn't really eaten all day. She fumbled through her keys trying to find the right one, when the door to the apartment behind her opened. She paid it no mind until she heard something fall to the floor and a few choice words echo off the walls. She turned around and saw a man standing with boxes towered from his chest past his face and she saw the small box that had fallen from the top.

She tiredly walked over picked up the box, "Can you kneel down a little?"

"I'll try."

His voice was smooth and attractive, and she quickly assumed the rest of him probably looked the same. But as quickly as the thought entered her mind it quickly found its way out, "Ya right, he's probably the cousin of uni-brow the last renter of the apartment." She thought to herself.

He was tall, she'd give him that. He slowly knelt down and she reached on her tippy-toes to put the box back on top.

"Thank-" He turned to the side so he could see who the generous stranger was that had helped him, but she was already walking into her apartment, "You."

Her door closed leaving him in the hall by himself, he sighed and began walking down the stairs, talking only to himself, "Welcome to Seattle...why thank you kind neighbor, my name's Nathan…you? Oh "unsociable", well unsociable it's a pleasure to meet you…"

He continued on his rant as he walked to the dumpster in the basement.

LET ME KNOW :)


	2. The Wrong Impression

"Nathan…it's not that bad." The curly blonde turned towards her irritated friend, "Besides…I already told you I'd handle the cleanup."

His sapphire eyes rolled while he rearranged the bags in his hands to find his keys, "Peyton, I just don't think this is necessary…"

"It's a house warming party Nate…not an execution."

"Whatever…"

The two entered the apartment that still had a few boxes that needed to be unpacked, but other than that everything was where it should be. Nathan carried the bags of food into the kitchen with Peyton close behind.

"I told Brooke to be here around eight…have you talked to Julian or Tim?"

"Ya, Tim will be here right around the same time…Julian's coming later."

"What about your neighbors?'

"What about them?"

"It'd be a good way to meet everyone Nathan."

"Maybe I don't want to meet any of them and the people here just seem…stuck up anyway. I'm good with just the regulars."

"The regulars?..." Peyton starred at him blankly, "Seriously?"

"Whatever…"

"Your arguementative skills challenge those of the greats my friend."

Nathan shook his head and grabbed the food containers that Peyton had emptied onto plates, "I'm gonna take these down…"

"Whatever…" Peyton mocked in her best Nathan tone.

Nathan walked out of his apartment and closed the door, leaning on it for a brief moment and closing his eyes. Between the move from Colorado and his bed not arriving till that morning, he was to say the least…tired. When he opened his eyes he starred at the apartment door across the hall. The gold number "twenty-three" slightly faded. He took a deep breath and hesitantly walked over to the wood frame, "Why am I doing this?" He held his breath before reaching out and knocking.

Silence.

He knocked once more, but was greeted by the same silence. He shrugged his shoulders, "At least I tried…" He continued on his way down the stairs.

Haley felt as if she was walking with cinder blocks attached to her feet. It had been a grueling day. Not only did Lucas drive her absolutely crazy babbling on about some game she had no interest in, but the other man in her life had proceeded to disappoint her yet again. Haley knew they weren't serious, she knew how Chris was. Flakey, was putting it nicely. But she had looked forward to an evening out, so when the plans fell through…she figured what were a few more hours at the office?

Her bag hung loosely over her shoulder, her curly blonde hair was thrown up in a messy bun and her exhaustion clearly showed on her face. As she made her way up the stairs to her apartment the sound of music became more apparent. With a heavy sigh she reached her door, "Great."

After a long shower and a stop in the kitchen for a much deserved glass of wine, Haley sat comfortably on her couch, sifting through numerous notes she had taken throughout the day. As she began to mumble to herself, the sound of the music from across the hall continued to pass its way into her apartment.

She shook her head in aggravation and tried to drown out the noise but it was persistant on taking her concentration away. She finally decided enough was enough. Haley slammed the loose pieces of papers on the couch and marched her way out of her apartment to her unconsiderate new neighbor. After a few figerous knocks the door finally opened.

She was taken aback by the man standing in front of her, he was shorter than she remembered. She quickly rid her mind of her observation and got back to the reasoning behind her little visit, "Look I know you just moved in but this is ridiculous…"

"But-"

"No. There are other people in this building and I for one have no interest listening to your mix of bad 90's rap."

"This isn-"

"Just turn the music down. Thank you." Haley took a deep breath before turning away not giving her annoying neighbor a chance to get a word in edge wise. She quickly returned to her apartment and slammed the door.

"Nathan…" Tim slowly closed the door still starring in the direction where the bold woman stood.

Nathan sat around his kitchen table dealing cards out to those around him, "Who was at the door?"

Tim made his way back to the table, "A short…very scary woman."

The room fell silent with everyone giving Tim the same odd glance. Nathan chuckled a bit, "Oh ya? You get her number?" he joked.

Tim sat back in his chair, "Crossed my mind. Hot…but scary. Still hot though."

Nathan's brow now furrowed, "What?"

"Apparently she lives across the hall…didn't appreciate my ode' to Snoop."

"Ya, I had a run in with her yesterday…" Nathan didn't give it much thought, "Ok, where'd I leave off?"

Nathan continued to deal the cards not thinking about his irritating neighbor for the rest of the night.

"Shoot!" Haley balanced on one foot while trying to put on her other shoe. Papers hung from her mouth and the blouse she was wearing wasn't tucked in, "Stupid alarm clock…" She mumbled with the papers still held by her lips.

She made it out of the apartment with both shoes on and fumbled with her keys to lock the door. When she turned around she shrieked in surprise, "Seriously!"

"But-I-"

Haley rolled her eyes and groaned in disapproval before walking down the stairs, leaving Tim standing in the hall, reaching down to grab the newspaper on the floor…wearing only his boxer.

Tim walked back into the apartment as Nathan was walking out of his room, "Jesus Tim! Where the hell are your pants?"

"I got hot."

Nathan just shook his head and walked into the kitchen.

"Had another run in with the neighbor…"

Nathan grabbed the gallon of orange juice from the fridge, "In your boxers?

"Ya…" Tim dryly answered.

"Whatever…where'd you get the newspaper anyway?"

"It was in the hall."

"I guess whoever was here before forgot to cancel it…" Nathan put the orange juice back in the fridge, "Hand me the sports section."

Tim tossed Nathan a few papers and looked through the remaining sections himself.

Nathan let out a small chuckle after reading a few paragraphs.

"What?"

"This Roe guy…he writes this crap about a team when he's obviously biased. He's going on forever about how Denver isn't going to be able to beat Chicago…if he even bothered looking at the stats…he makes it just a little too obvious that he's from the Midwest." Nathan tossed the paper to the side. "Hand me the rest."

"But-"

"My house. My paper and for the last time, PUT ON SOME DAMN PANTS."

Tim sighed in defeat before tossing the paper towards Nathan and retreating to the bathroom.

Nathan skimmed through the rest of the paper when an article caught his eye, _"Words of Wisdom from the Peanut Gallery_"

_Games. I've had such a fond memory of them since childhood. I mean you have the classics, "Monopoly, " "Checkers," "Life," but when did a mass produced game, such as "Life" claim such a hold on how one feels. Let me explain. You move throughout the board…yet no matter what you roll, you are forced to marry. Is this a subliminal message telling America's youth that unless you are married you are not considered successful? Well I boycott. Not only are we single ladies reminded every time we turn on the radio or television, but as I sit down with my niece for that "quality family time," I have a six-year old interrogating me on why she doesn't have an Uncle. So parents I warn…before you go out and buy the ne…_

Nathan skimmed through the rest until he came to the author's name, _"__**H. James**__."_ He put the paper down, "Who actually believes this crap…"


	3. The Meeting

**_Sorry for such the long wait, life as it does takes hold and doesn't allow the time to write! :D But here is the update, I've written a head a couple chapters, but I wanted to see if anyone was still interested in the story, so if you like it, REVIEW and I'll post more :) _**

**_As always, THANKS FOR READING!  
_**

**_Reviews are Love!_**

**_- Bethie_**

_"Do you ever stop to look at the people surrounding you? On average we pass three hundred and thirty two faces a day, but of these faces would you be able to distinguish the one that had the remaining tears left from an afternoon cry? Or the one whose mouth curls into an unstoppable smile at the thought of a new love? I frequent Westlake Park often, it's location much more appealing then the gym, to fulfill my morning jog, on the mornings I can pry my head from my pillow that is and I often find myself looking into the faces of the passer by's and wondering what thoughts fill their heads. Are they jogging to relieve stress from an underpaid job? Are they running away from something? Or are they simply out in the park at the crack of dawn, with no worries and just doing it out of fitness obligation? Most of the time I'll make up a story for their lives to make my life feel a little less of a train-wreck, perhaps they have to run because of a rare brain condition where their heart stops unless the keep a certain mph, almost a bionic version of the movie "Speed.". Yes, these are the questions that seem to run through my mind. I challenge any reader to start jogging at Westlake Park, I may not notice your smiles or your tears, but as I pass you, find comfort in the fact that I have invented a mini Soap Opera in your honor. – H. James. _

Haley closed the morning paper and sighed, Sunday's had always been her favorite. For most, it was a reminder of the work week looming its head around the corner, but Haley always found it relaxing. She lazily walked into her bedroom and threw on a pair of loose shorts and a hoodie reading "Red Hawks" in honor of her alma mater. With her hair in a ponytail and I-Pod in hand, she headed down the road to Westlake Park, the topic of her article this morning.

The clouds were unusually thin for this time of year, with rays of sunlight creeping through; the golden light made the park greener than Haley had last seen it. She put her earpieces in, stretched her legs a few times and began her journey across the park. In truth to her article, her eyes immediately went to the strangers passing her._ Old man. Old woman. Old woman with dog. Middle-Aged woman with dog. _She sighed; it didn't look like it was going to be a very imaginative day.

The air was moist, making her hair damp as she ran. The sound of James Morrison played in her ear. She found many people preferred up-tempo music while exercising, not surprisingly though, Haley was different. She found his voice relaxing and his lyrics truthful, everything Haley looked for in an artist. She ran for about a mile and decided to head back to her apartment. She stopped at the first floor to grab the mail from her box, "Hello." A voice called from behind.

"Hey…" she answered kindly, but didn't turn to see who the voice was coming from.

"Red hawks huh?"

At that moment Haley regretted her choice of wardrobe, "Yes, I graduated from there…" her words trailed off. She was not expecting the man in front of her. He was tall. He was muscular. He was very attractive.

"You play?" He asked pointing at the basketball on her shirt.

She looked down and shrugged, "Nope. Just saw the shirt in the school gift shop one year."

"Nice. I played a little in college, tore my knee though." He reached out his hand, "I'm Nathan, just moved in."

"Haley…didn't just move in?" Her voice went up in an awkward tone not exactly knowing how to respond, "Well, welcome to Seattle."

He chuckled, "Thanks. I think you may be the first person to say that to me."

"Don't take it personally, people hate change. New people scare us." She winked and childishly looked at her feet, her eyes on the way down caught glimpse of a very vintage, very green lamp.

Nathan noticed her expression and laughed, "I know. Hideous right? I moved from a studio apartment, which my girlfriend, well ex-girlfriend kept most of the furnishings." He held it up to his face, "I don't know…get some orange shag carpet and I could have a very stylish apartment…in 1973."

Haley couldn't help but laugh and for some reason the idea of an ex-girlfriend gave her butterflies that she wasn't able to rationalize, "Well I'm sure it will look spectacular."

There was an awkward silence before Nathan spoke again, "Can I walk you to your apartment or-"

"It's not that far but sure…" She tucked a loose hair from her ponytail behind her ear.

Nathan gestured for her to walk in front of him and she made her way up the stairs, slowly.

"So where you moving from?"

"Colorado."

"And what made you decide to come all the way up here?"

"Friends. Most of my friends are from here, my family had a summer house here growing up and the friendships kind of stuck. After the break-up I needed a change and there was a job opening so I said…what the hell."

"When'd you get in?"

"Moved in about four days ago."

"Must be a pretty popular building, someone else just moved in too…though I'm not exactly his biggest fan." Haley chuckled.

"Oh ya? Why's that? You seem pretty harmless."

Haley turned around to view the smirk she somehow knew he would have, she playfully rolled her eyes, "Oh we'll just say that we don't exactly see eye to eye."

"It happens. Not a fan of the woman that lives across from me either" They turned the corner of the stairs, leading up to the third floor, "How much farther up are you? This is me but I did say I'd walk you so…" He smiled again.

Haley's brow furrowed, "Er-You did walk me. This is me."

"No it isn't" Nathan laughed figuring she was joking, "The woman that lives across from me is some pretentious bitch."

Haley's face turned red, "And the man that lives across from me is a short, little pervert that parades the halls in his underwear!"

Silence.

Nathan shook his head, "Tim."

"What?"

"That wasn't me. That's a friend of mine. Tim. The man you saw was Tim." There was humor in his voice now, "But you're the _bitch_ that kept yelling at him! Hilarious."

"Bitch!"

"Oh come on, I was there you yelled at him at least twice to my knowledge."

"He was _blaring_ music! I'd had a long day!"

Nathan but a finger to his ear, "Ok, now you've gone ultra-sonic…"

"You know what just-"She huffed while pulling her key from her tennis shoe.

"You keep your key in yo-"

She cut him off, "Look, I'm not a bitch. I just happened to like a little quiet after a long ass day at work…and I don't appreciate-"

His turn, "I'm not calling you a bitch."

"No. You're telling me your friend did, but" She put her hands in the air, "You know what it doesn't matter. Welcome to Seattle. Welcome to the building. Yada yada yada, I'll be sure to alert the landlord to change my mailbox to "Pretentious Bitch." She found her key and made her way over to her door, "It was nice meeting you. Goodnight."

The corner of Nathan's lips curved into a smile, "Tim was right…scary. But hot." He amusingly shook his head and opened his apartment door.


End file.
